In
Pursuit of Excellence
The
Hong Kong Police Force is dedicated to provide quality service that
inspires confidence and respect among the community it serves. This is
achieved through the establishment and strict monitoring of 'Force Values'
and performance pledges for particular services.
Overall policy directives come from the Service Quality Wing, which also
identifies and implements initiatives designed to create a 'culture of
service' throughout the ranks. The emphasis is on total involvement with
the process, whereby individuals are encouraged to contribute their own
suggestions. To
keep track of how personnel are responding to changes, and how the
community perceives the Force, the Wing's Performance Review Branch
commissioned the University of Hong Kong to conduct two independent
surveys during the year ¡X the first among staff to assess their views on
new management initiatives, and the second among the public to gauge
customer satisfaction with police performance.
While the results were generally encouraging, the real benefit of the
surveys was to identify areas where improvements could be made ¡X both
internally and in our dealings with the community. Measures were adopted
to enhance proactive communication at all levels, and to strengthen the
quality of service through staff participation schemes and new scope of
professional training.
Valuable
feedback
Feedback
from a similar survey conducted in 1999 has already been put to good use
through a series of 'Living-the-Values' workshops where Force members
discuss public concerns as they affect their particular areas of
operation. The workshops are designed to break down communication
barriers, encourage local ownership of problems, and implement solutions.
Suggestions from participants are evaluated and, if accepted, taken
forward by their immediate managers.
Within the Force, one of the principal issues raised was internal
communication. This has prompted a 'Force Strategy on Internal
Communication' that will be implemented in the coming year. The aim is to
instil a positive attitude about sharing information with colleagues, to
exploit and strengthen the existing communication systems, and to clearly
specify the roles and responsibilities of officers as communicators. A
steering committee chaired by the Deputy Commissioner of Police
(Management) will monitor the implementation and progress of the Strategy.
New
emphasis on management systems
As
part of ongoing efforts to improve management techniques, steps have been
taken to align and integrate current systems with the Government's
'Target-based Management Process'. This includes a new management
framework that will be supported by a comprehensive set of performance
indicators to help managers focus on improvements to critical areas.
Further management support will come through information technology
development of a full-scale 'Knowledge Management' system that involves
the use of networked terminals to communicate, store and share knowledge
across the Force. Initial feedback from a pilot study indicates that full
implementation of the system will have a major impact on the efficiency of
the Force.
In the field of improvements to customer service, report rooms in 19
police stations have been refurbished to give them a friendlier ambience
and similar work to another 21 stations should be completed in 2001.
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